Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies President Spencer Overton says there is a heated debate over how much progress we have made over the past 50 years.

WASHINGTON (NNPA) – Although Blacks have made tremendous improvement in holding elected office since passage of the 1965 Voting Rights Act, they remain underrepresented at the federal, state and local levels, according to a report scheduled to be released Tuesday by the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies.

“Based on the most recent data, African Americans are 12.5% of the citizen voting age population, but they make up a smaller share of the U.S. House (10%), state legislatures (8.5%), city councils (5.7%), and the U.S. Senate (2%),” the report said.

The 38-page report titled, “50 Years of The Voting Rights Act: The State of Race in Politics,” was produced for the center by four prominent political scientists: Khalilah Brown-Dean, Zoltan Hajnal, Christina Rivers and Ismail White.

Joint Center President Spencer Overton said in a message introducing the report, that there is a heated debate over: How much progress have we made since 1965? How much more work is there to do?

He said, “These are contested questions, subject to ideology and opinion. A study published in Perspectives on Psychological Science, for example, shows that on average whites and African Americans differ on the amount of racial progress we have made, with whites now believing anti-white bias is more prevalent than anti-black bias. We have elected an African American president, but studies have shown that some government officials are less likely to respond to inquiries from citizens with seemingly black or Latino names. The questions are also at the core of many ongoing debates about voting rights in the U.S. Supreme Court and Congress, as well as in many states, counties, and municipalities.”

What is not contested is that the Voting Rights Act of 1965 changed the political landscape for African Americans, with the number of Black elected officials leaping from fewer than 1,000 in 1965 to now more than 10,000.

The change was particularly dramatic in the South, where 55 percent of African Americans live.

“Since the 1870s, white elected officials in many parts of the South had used violence, literacy tests, interpretation tests, poll taxes, and other devices to exclude African Americans,” the report recounted. “The Justice Department filed 71 voting rights lawsuits in the Deep South before 1965, but cases were typically complex, time-consuming, and expensive. When a court struck down one type of discriminatory device, local officials simply erected a different device that effectively excluded most African Americans.”

Selma, Ala. and surrounding Dallas County was typical. Deploying rigged tests about the U.S. Constitution and a requirement that voters be in “good character,” as defined by White registrars, a White minority was able to suppress the Black majority.

In 1965, more than half of Dallas County was Black. Of the county’s 15,000 voting-age Blacks, only 156 were registered to vote. By contrast, two-thirds of voting-age Whites were registered in the county. Throughout Alabama, only 19.4 percent of African Americans were registered. In neighboring Mississippi, just 6.4 percent of Blacks were registered.

As part of a massive voter registration campaign in 1965, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) and local residents launched a Selma-to-Montgomery March to dramatize the lack of access to the ballot box.

On April 7, in what became known as “Bloody Sunday,” peaceful marchers in Selma were savagely beaten by Alabama State Troopers and local policemen as they attempted to walk across the Edmund Pettus Bridge to begin the 54-mile journey to Montgomery, the state capital.

The merciless beating of children, the elderly and adults was beamed in homes throughout the nation and provided the momentum for President Lyndon B. Johnson to sign the Voting Rights Act into law four months later.

“Only in the wake of the Voting Rights Act did black voter registration in the South begin to approach that of whites. Five years after the passage of the Act, the racial gap in voter registration in the former Confederate states had closed to single digits. By the start of the 1970s, the black/white registration gap across the Southern states was little more than 8 percentage points,” the report stated.

“In Louisiana, the gap between black and white voter registration rates decreased by nearly 30 percentage points from 1960 to the end of 1970s, and it continued to decrease over the next three decades. By 2010, black registration rates in the state of Louisiana and many of the other former Confederate states had exceeded white registration rates for the first time since Reconstruction. The Voting Rights Act had delivered a Second Reconstruction.”

In fact, in four of the 12 presidential elections since 1965, Black Southerners turned out at the polls at a higher rate than their White counterparts. Nationally, Black turnout exceeded White turnout in the 2012 presidential election and possibly in 2008, according to the report.

Activists credit much of that progress to the Voting Rights Act requirement that jurisdictions that previously discriminated against Blacks had to pre-clear voting changes in advance with federal authorities.

However, the Supreme Court’s decision in Shelby took away that tool and there is a measure pending in Congress that would reverse some of the damage. A House bill sponsored by “Bloody Sunday” veteran John Lewis (D-Ga.) and Jim Sensenbrenner (R-Wisconsin) would update the act.

“The proposed legislation would apply preclearance to jurisdictions with a record of voting rights violations within the previous 15 years, would make it easier for courts to block discriminatory rules before they are used in elections and harm voters, and would require disclosure of voting changes nationwide,” the report stated.

“In urban local elections, race is a more decisive factor than income, education …religion, sexuality, age, gender, and political ideology. The 38-point racial gap exceeds even the 33 point gap between Democratic and Republican voters,” the study said.

According to the report, African Americans “were the least advantaged group in America in terms of policy outcomes.”

Not all of the problems were external. The issue of low Black voter turnout, especially in local elections, is a major challenge that warrants further study, the report said.

It noted, “ …In 2014, when there was great unrest over a police officer’s killing of Michael Brown, African Americans made up 67% of residents of Ferguson, Missouri. In 2012, a solid 100% of Ferguson precincts went for President Obama, but during Ferguson’s municipal off-cycle elections voters selected Ferguson’s Republican mayor and six city council members, all of whom except one were white.”

The report shatters the notion that we’re living in a post-racial society.

“Despite discussions about the declining significance of race, over the past few decades, racial divides along partisan lines have actually grown. African Americans have increasingly favored Democrats, and recently Latinos and Asian Americans have become more loyal to the Democratic Party as well. The shift to the left has been particularly pronounced for Asian Americans,” it said.

“On the other side, whites have moved slowly and unevenly – but inexorably – to the Republican Party. Fifty years ago, the Democratic Party dominated the white vote. Today, nationwide, whites are more apt to favor the Republican Party.”

It concluded, “Division is a normal and healthy part of democracy, but when a core dividing line in a nation becomes so closely aligned with race and ethnicity, larger concerns about inequality, conflict, and discrimination emerge.”
_____By George E. Curry
NNPA Editor-in-Chief

OPINION (NNPA) – After Earth, Men in Black 3, Seven Pounds… It’s been a while since Will Smith lived up to his star status in a film worth having his name above the marquee. As Nicky, a con artist’s con artist in Focus, he redeems himself somewhat in a generic but often entertaining game of who’s fooling who.

Nicky Spurgeon – part con artist and part thief – was trained by his dad and granddad in the fine art of deception: Focus your victim’s attention in one direction, while you steal him blind out of his line of vision. One night in a New York bar, Jess (Margot Robbie, The Wolf of Wall Street), a novice shyster, picks him up and brings him back to her hotel. Her enraged husband barges into the room demanding money from Nicky, or he’ll kill him. Don’t BS a BSer. Nick knows the two are on the con. He schools them. That would have been the end of a strange night, except Jess wants to learn the ropes from a master and Nicky is smitten with the svelte blonde.

Nicky works Jess into his gang of thieves. In New Orleans, they pickpocket, swipe jewelry and steal money with a nerve and rhythm that is precision. At a football game, Nicky schemes on a wealthy man named Liyuan (BD Wong) who likes to bet on anything. He pulls an unwitting Jess into his ruse. Once he’s done, he leaves her. Three years later in Buenos Aries, Nicky shows up for a job involving the racecar world and a coveted algorithm. He’s working for a slick dude named Garriga (Rodrigo Santoro). He’s shocked one night when he finds a beautiful blonde cozying up to his mark. It’s Jess.

The cagey film The Grifters, starring Annette Bening, Anjelica Houston and John Cusack, directed by Stephen Frears, set the bar real high for all con artist movies that followed. This nicely crafted and very slick looking production isn’t as gripping or original as the aforementioned, but that doesn’t stop it from being fun. You won’t be astonished, but you won’t be bored either.

Writer/directors Glenn Ficara and John Requa (Crazy, Stupid, Love) mix in enough hijinks (thieves working a New Orleans crowd), violence (a car crash, punched faces and gun play) and titillation (Smith goes bare chest, Robbie does not, their modest love sex scene lacks chemistry) to keep your interests piqued. The screenplay has a lot of twists and turns, and you can’t quite guess where the story is leading, though you know instinctively that a big con is coming.

Jan Kovac’s (Curb Your Enthusiasm) editing is pretty nimble and well accommodates the film’s four acts, which unfold in 104 minutes. There is a happy marriage between Xavier Grobet’s (Mother and Child) glossy cinematography, Beth Mickle’s (Thanks for Sharing) production design and Kelly Curley’s art direction, which tends to favor teal blue. The musical score by Nick Urata (I Love You Phillip Morris) is reminiscent of 1980s hip nightclub music, like the hit song “Ghost Town” by The Specials.

Margot Robbie, certainly tall and beautiful in a Victoria Secrets kind of way, has a tough interior. Adrian Martinez (American Hustle) as Farhad, one of Nicky’s cronies, brings humor to the gang. As Jess sits in the back seat and Nicky drives the car, Farhad blurts out, “You hitting that?” Gerald McRaney (TV’s House of Cards) plays the perfect henchman. Rodrigo Santoro is fine as the Argentinean playboy, but he was much more electric in 300: Rise of an Empire.

Will Smith carries this film on shoulders. His cool demeanor and devil-may-care attitude are appealing. He has tremendous stage presence and he knows how to work the camera. Physically, for a 47 year-old-man, he’s in great shape and aging like Dorian Grey. What Smith’s career needs now, is a blockbuster that can put him back on top of the heap.

Great advice on acting and perseverance from Sacramento actor Christopher Michael Holley (State of Affairs) on “Sacramento Film Works,” a project of the Northern California Filmmakers Coalition. Also pictured are hosts Craig DeLuz and Amy Henry. (Photo Courtesy of Access Sacramento)

SACRAMENTO – Northern California’s own Christopher Michael Holley sat down with the hosts of Sacramento Film Works to talk about his journey from struggling local actor to rising Hollywood star. Holley used entertaining stories from his own life to share valuable advice with those seeking to make a career in the film industry.

“It’s not called Show Friends. It’s Show Business”, Holley exclaimed, as he talked about how he got his first big break as Beanie in the film Smokin Aces. He went on share about the importance of honing your craft, being open to constructive criticism and being willing to “pay your dues.”

Sacramento Film Works, which is hosted by Craig DeLuz and Amy Henry is a produced by the Northern California Filmmakers Coalition. It airs the first Saturday of the month at 6:00 pm on Comcast channel 17 and AT&T Uverse channel 99.

This episode (Journey of a Rising Star) featuring Christopher Michael Holley will air on March 7th.

]]>http://sacobserver.com/2015/03/rising-hollywood-star-christopher-michael-holley-shares-his-story/feed/0Gas Prices Soar in California as Supply Shrinkshttp://sacobserver.com/2015/03/gas-prices-soar-in-california-as-supply-shrinks/
http://sacobserver.com/2015/03/gas-prices-soar-in-california-as-supply-shrinks/#respondMon, 02 Mar 2015 14:42:01 +0000http://sacobserver.com/?p=8171LONG BEACH (AP) — Gas prices are soaring in California in a classic example of supply and demand after an explosion stopped gasoline production at an Exxon Mobil refinery while another remains offline due to labor unrest.

Average retail gas prices in the state have surged 25 cents a gallon in less than a week, from $2.98 per gallon for regular on Monday to $3.23 per gallon on Friday. That caps a run that saw the price of regular unleaded go up 60 cents per gallon since Jan. 30 as refineries prepare to shift to a summer blend of fuels.

In some areas of Southern California, gas station owners were forced to pass price hikes of 24 cents per gallon along to consumers on Thursday after seeing wholesale prices shoot up. Prices in Northern California lagged a day, but by Friday were also rising; an independent operator with a chain of gas stations around the San Francisco Bay area boosted prices 20 cents a gallon for regular on Friday, to $3.19.

The situation underscores the frustrating complexity of the gasoline market in California, where state environmental regulations mandate a specialized blend of fuel that isn’t used anywhere else in the U.S.

Because of that, California is economically isolated and can’t easily or quickly purchase fuel from outside the state in a crisis.

“Your market in California has about as much margin for error as Jennifer Lopez’s Academy Awards dress,” said Tom Kloza, global head of energy at the Oil Price Information Service.

“If you’re not a refiner who had a problem with a refinery this month — if you’re not Exxon Mobil — you have been rewarded with incredible profits this month. That’s just the way the market works.”

A unit of the Exxon Mobil refinery in Torrance that’s critical to producing California-grade gasoline exploded on Feb. 18, causing a fire and stopping new production there while the state investigates. The blast injured four contractors and rained a fine white ash on nearby homes and cars. State air quality regulators confirmed last week that the ash was not toxic.

At the time, another Tesoro oil refinery in Martinez, in Northern California, wasn’t producing oil due to labor unrest.

The two facilities combined make up 17 percent of the state’s crude oil processing capacity, said Gordon Schremp, a senior fuels specialist with the California Energy Commission.

Refineries in a few other places have the ability to produce gasoline that would meet California’s strict standards — including parts of Canada and Korea — but most refineries don’t want to because it’s expensive and prevents them from making other types of gasoline, he said. Also, the product would have to travel to the market, a process that could take weeks.

“It takes a while to get some significant supplies from outside,” Schremp said. “It’s very normal that we’d see a significant price spike.”

Two state Senate committees will hold oversight hearings in late March on oil price volatility and the explosion at the Southern California refinery.

A state Senate joint committee hearing on refinery blast is also set for March 5 in Torrance.

Gas station owners, meanwhile, chafed at having to pass the costs on to consumers. The profit margin for station owners was 18.5 cents per gallon in California on Friday, a break-even or money-losing proposition for many independent retailers, said Jeff Lenard, a spokesman for the National Association of Convenience Stores.

In Torrance, station owner Frank Scotto was forced to increase his prices by 24 cents per gallon on Thursday. He hasn’t seen such a spike since he went into the gas station business in 1967, he said.

“I printed out the price change and I’m framing this thing because I’ve never seen this kind of thing in all my years,” said Scotto, who owns a Mobil and Exxon station.
_____BY GILLIAN FLACCUS
Assocaited Press

The Los Angeles Times reported (http://tinyurl.com/kwxom7d ) Sunday that the 38-year-old Log Cabin Republican group received overwhelming support to receive a charter at the state party’s biannual convention in Sacramento.

The chairman of the Log Cabin Group said the organization worked two years on its application and cited the active involvement members had in recent campaigns. Delegates granted the group a charter on an 861-293 vote.

“A lot of us knew we were Republican before we knew we were gay, so this is home for us,” said Charles Moran, head of the Log Cabin organization.

Formal recognition of the Log Cabin group was opposed by some party social conservatives, who argued the item violated the party’s bylaws. They also argued the issue was quietly placed on the convention agenda without little notice and no time for debate.

A longtime Republican conservative activist called approval of the Log Cabin’s charter a “travesty” that cuts against the party’s stand on family values.

Celeste Greig also told the San Francisco Chronicle (http://tinyurl.com/loeb3uf) that the Log Cabin group’s efforts to be chartered were “a real travesty.”

“They are promoting a lifestyle, which is against our bylaws,” said Greig, who insisted that party rules mandate that “no group should be chartered if you have a personal agenda.”

But the group won support from national figures to help with its campaign for formal recognition.

In a speech from the convention floor Sunday, the Sacramento Bee reported (http://tinyurl.com/o6od9cu ) that Shawn Steel, a Republican National Committeeman from California, said the gay group has supported Republican causes for years and deserved the recognition.

“They have been solid soldiers in their fight against leftist tyranny in California,” Steel said. “I would welcome them in our organization … I am proud to have them in the California Republican Party.”

]]>http://sacobserver.com/2015/03/california-gop-recognizes-gay-faction-of-party/feed/0Earl Lloyd, first Black player in National Basketball Association, dies at 86http://sacobserver.com/2015/02/earl-lloyd-first-black-player-in-national-basketball-association-dies-at-86/
http://sacobserver.com/2015/02/earl-lloyd-first-black-player-in-national-basketball-association-dies-at-86/#respondFri, 27 Feb 2015 17:30:21 +0000http://sacobserver.com/?p=8162NATIONWIDE (AP) – Earl Lloyd, the first Black player in NBA history, died Thursday. He was 86.

Lloyd’s alma mater, West Virginia State, confirmed the death. It did not provide details.

Lloyd made his NBA debut in 1950 for the Washington Capitals, just before fellow Black players Sweetwater Clifton and Chuck Cooper played their first games.

“The NBA family has lost one of its patriarchs,” NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said in a statement. “Earl Lloyd, the first African-American to play in an NBA game, was as inspirational as he was understated. He was known as a modest gentleman who played the game with skill, class, and pride. His legacy survives in the league he helped integrate, and the entire NBA family will strive to always honor his memory.”

Lloyd helped the Syracuse Nationals win the 1955 NBA title, joining teammate Jim Tucker as the first Black players to play on a championship team.

The 6-foot-5 forward averaged 8.4 points and 6.4 rebounds in 560 regular-season games in nine seasons with Washington, Syracuse and Detroit. He missed the 1951-52 season while serving in the U.S. Army.

Inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2003 as a contributor, Lloyd was 22-55 as Detroit’s coach in 1971-72 and the first nine games in the 1972-73 season.

“The State family mourns the loss of a fellow Yellow Jacket and trailblazer who was a true champion both on and off of the basketball court,” West Virginia State President Brian Hemphill said in a statement. “When Earl stepped out on the court on that fateful date in 1950, this remarkable man rightfully earned his place in the historic civil rights movement and, more important, he opened the door to equality in America.”

Lloyd, a native of Alexandria, Virginia, lived in Crossville, Tennessee.

]]>http://sacobserver.com/2015/02/earl-lloyd-first-black-player-in-national-basketball-association-dies-at-86/feed/0TIANA BURSE: Why Some Entrepreneurs Succeed More Than Othershttp://sacobserver.com/2015/02/tiana-burse-why-some-entrepreneurs-succeed-more-than-others/
http://sacobserver.com/2015/02/tiana-burse-why-some-entrepreneurs-succeed-more-than-others/#respondThu, 26 Feb 2015 18:19:49 +0000http://sacobserver.com/?p=8156OPINION – There are countless stories that have been written about what successful entrepreneurs do on a day-to-day basis that stand worlds apart from those who merely exist as entrepreneurs.

As a relationship marketing coach, I’ve discovered that practically all successful entrepreneurs set goals, specifically at the first week or two in the new month of January in a new year. Whereas some of the most unsuccessful entrepreneurs don’t set any goals at all and/or their goals have not manifested in a more clear and specific way.

The truth is, successful entrepreneurs understand that it’s not whether they reach their clear-stated goals, but rather when they hit their desired destination. And just having that inner knowing brings forth in itself the motivation to continue on when times get tough. Because no matter what, while on the journey of what most would consider the road less traveled, things will become grim at times.

So, for all those entrepreneurs who are ready to raise their bar of achievement and to all the individuals aspiring to be entrepreneurs moving forward in 2015, it’s time to claim this new year as your year to be bold, be great and be you.

Now let’s talk about the keys to your growth and success in 2015:

By letting go of the past and moving forward into an unknown future starting today, right now come to the reality that as this new year unfolds you will undoubtedly meet with good fortune as well as challenging obstacles. However no matter what comes our way, one thing will remain as a constant:

You have specific targets in sight!

What are your target’s? Your clear and concise goals which can be broken down to their simplest forms:

Difficult – Challenging your comfort zone

Achievable – Beyond your normal grasp

Measurable – In time and quantity

Positive – Constant affirmation which can be best described as “I Am”

Written Down – This is your accountability road map

My in-depth additional research has shown that some entrepreneurs succeed more than others also comes down to personal growth.

Personal growth in most cases serves a two-fold while pursuing the desired goals. One thing that I have seen from my own personal journey is that regardless of how many like-minded people you have around you, they cannot shield you from the negativity of the world. It can be very easy to become seduced into thinking that your goals are not achievable especially when you are not seeing the results in the physical eye therefore placing major emphasis on personal development acts as a “shield” from the world around you.

It is a fact that whatever you put your energy into is what is going to grow and successful entrepreneurial trend setters train themselves over time by habit which allows them to embrace a peace of mind, patience, fortitude, courage and so much more to get them to where they want to go.

So, today give yourself credit for taking the time to read this informative article because you have begun telling the universe that “you want your life to have impact.”

Now forge ahead today, forget your past, allow your goals to serve as your specific road map and focus your energy in areas of your life and business that will serve you and not hold you back from thriving in 2015.

Be Bold. Be Great. Be You.

]]>http://sacobserver.com/2015/02/tiana-burse-why-some-entrepreneurs-succeed-more-than-others/feed/0Plastic bag ban suspended after group gets enough signatures for ballot measurehttp://sacobserver.com/2015/02/plastic-bag-ban-suspended-after-group-gets-enough-signatures-for-ballot-measure/
http://sacobserver.com/2015/02/plastic-bag-ban-suspended-after-group-gets-enough-signatures-for-ballot-measure/#commentsWed, 25 Feb 2015 16:10:28 +0000http://sacobserver.com/?p=8153SACRAMENTO (AP) — California’s first-in-the-nation statewide ban on plastic shopping bags was put on hold Tuesday when state election officials confirmed a trade group had turned in enough signatures to place the issue before voters in 2016.

The American Progressive Bag Alliance, which represents bag manufacturers, had about 50,000 more valid signatures than the 505,000 needed to qualify the referendum after a random sample of the signatures was tallied, said Bill Mabie, chief deputy for Secretary of State Alex Padilla.

The group had submitted more than 800,000 signatures at the end of last year.

Gov. Jerry Brown signed the bag ban last fall after one of the fiercest legislative battles of 2014, pitting bag-makers against environmentalists. It was scheduled to be phased in starting in July at large grocery stores and supermarkets as a way to cut down on litter and protect marine life.

The bag alliance said the ban will cost manufacturing jobs and boost profits for grocers, who can charge customers a premium for bags now given away for free.

“California voters will now have the chance to vote down a terrible law that, if implemented, would kill 2,000 local manufacturing jobs and funnel obscene profits to big grocers without any money going to a public purpose or environmental initiative,” the group’s executive director, Lee Califf, said in a news release.

Supporters of the ban criticized manufacturers for spending millions on the referendum campaign to continue selling single-use plastic bags.

“This is a cynical ploy by out-of-state interests desperate to delay a ban already adopted in more than 100 communities across California,” Brown’s spokesman Evan Westrup said.

Mark Murray, a spokesman for Californians vs. Big Plastic, said the coalition of environmental, labor and business groups is confident California voters will uphold the ban. “It’s not surprising that after spending more than $3.2 million, 98 percent of which is from out of state, the plastic bag industry has bought its way onto the California ballot to protect its profits,” Murray said.

Under the legislation by Padilla, who was then a state senator, California was to begin pulling plastic bags out of checkout counters at large grocery stores such as Wal-Mart and Target this summer. The ban was scheduled to expand to convenience stores and pharmacies in 2016.

Padilla was elected in November as California secretary of state, whose office oversees the process to qualify initiatives for the ballot.

The law does not apply to bags used for fruits, vegetables or meats, or to shopping bags used at other retailers. It allows grocers to charge a fee of at least 10 cents for using paper bags.

To address concerns about job losses, the bill included $2 million in loans for plastic bag manufacturers to shift their operations to making reusable bags.

Environmental activists have successfully pushed plastic bag bans in cities across the U.S., including Chicago, Seattle and Austin, Texas. Hawaii also is on track to have a de facto statewide ban, with all counties approving prohibitions.

More than 100 cities and counties in California, including Los Angeles and San Francisco, already have such bans. Several other California local governments plan to move forward with their own bans as a result of the referendum, including San Diego, Santa Barbara County, Sacramento, Oceanside and American Canyon.
_____By JUDY LIN
Associated Press

Julián Castro, the secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development talks about the importance of homeownership in the African American community. (Freddie Allen/NNPA)

WASHINGTON (NNPA) – Julián Castro, the secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development, wants to provide broadband access to public housing residents in an effort to increase socioeconomic mobility among poor and low-income families.

“We think [broadband access] is important because the world requires a connection to the Internet now,” said Castro.

He said that HUD wants to launch the program, which is still in its early planning stages, in 20 major metropolitan areas working with private sector telecommunication companies to wire the communities or provide wireless in a free or very low-cost way.

Castro said that in the vast majority of public housing communities, there is no connectivity.

According to a 2014 report by the Pew Research Center, most households with incomes below $20,000, “do not have an internet subscription for a computer, cell phone or other device, though they may have free access at a local library or elsewhere.” Roughly 25 million American households, “have no regular internet access at all, either at home or elsewhere.”

Sixty-two percent of Black adults have broadband access at home compared to 74 percent of White adults. A gap of 12 percent. The digital divide between Black and White adults 65 and older leaps to 21 percent (30 percent vs. 51 percent who have broadband at home).

A 2010 Pew survey revealed that Americans feel that people that don’t have broadband access at home “are at a major disadvantage when it comes to finding out about job opportunities or learning career skills, or when getting health information, learning new things for personal enrichment, and using government services.”

Castro said that a respectable number of people have Internet connection through their cell phone, but it’s not the same as having that access in your home where it’s more stable and you can do homework and other things that people generally don’t do on their phones.

Castro attended junior high school with a lot of kids that lived in public housing and his father also lived in public housing at different periods in his life.

“I know that the folks who live in public housing have the same aspirations and the same potential as anybody else,” said Castro. “And here at HUD we’re going to do every single thing that we can to make sure that they can be a part of our American success story.”

That American success story includes increasing homeownership to build wealth from one generation to the next and to increase upward mobility, and that’s a part of HUD’s long-term mission.

The department’s most immediate challenge, however, is addressing disparities in the rental market.

Blacks not only face discrimination in the rental market, but they also are treated differently than Whites when they look to become homeowners.

According to a 2013 report by the Department of Housing and Urban Development, “Black renters who contact agents about recently advertised housing units learn about 11.4 percent fewer available units than equally qualified whites and are shown 4.2 percent fewer units.”

Blacks are also offered shorter leases and told that background checks are required more often than White renters.

Blacks faced even greater discrimination when attempting to buy a home. When Blacks contacted agents about recently advertised homes they were shown roughly 18 percent fewer homes than White homebuyers. During the housing crisis, minorities were often offered subprime loans products, even when they qualified for better loan conditions.

“Too many times African American families don’t get the same opportunities to evaluate potential homes or rental properties just because of the color of their skin and we want to root that out,” said Castro.

The United States Census Bureau reported that the homeownership rate for Blacks was 42.1 percent in the fourth quarter of 2014, the lowest of all racial groups. Whites had the highest homeownership rate at 72.3 percent. The homeownership rates for both groups were down from the same period in 2013.

Castro said that the bulk of wealth of African Americans and Latinos is tied up in their homes.

Biniam Gebre, the acting commissioner for the Federal Housing Administration (FHA), said that even though homeownership rates have fallen, people are still creating families and having babies and that’s creating pressure on the rental market which, in turn, is causing the rise in rental costs.

“The rental market and the homeownership market are inextricably linked,” said Gebre. “You have to deal with both problems you just can’t deal with one.”

In an effort to make homeownership more affordable, Castro said that the administration is working to reduce mortgage insurance premiums, a fee that skyrocketed 145 percent ($1,600 more annually), since the housing crisis began in 2007.

“That has a significant negative impact on the ability of folks with modest means in particular communities of color to be able to afford to buy a home,” said Castro.

Castro said that reducing the premium would allow 250,000 more borrowers to afford a home through the FHA and the average borrower will save about $900 every year.

“The [Federal Housing Administration] FHA continues to play a vital role in creating a ticket to middle class and wealth creation through homeownership,” said Castro.

Castro said that HUD has also made significant investments in presale counseling, homeowner counseling, and financial literacy to help homebuyers understand the real cost of homeownership.
BEGIN OPTIONAL CUT

That real cost was a burden that many homeowners in Prince George’s County were ill-prepared for when the housing bubble burst.

Two years after the recession officially ended, more than 50 percent of housing sales in Prince George’s County, known as the wealthiest majority Black county in the nation, were in foreclosure properties, according to Metropolitan Regional Information Systems (MRIS), a multiple listing service for real estate professionals. Bankrate.com, an online aggregator of financial rate information said that Maryland was second in the nation for housing units receiving foreclosure filings in December 2014.

Through a national mortgage settlement agreement, Maryland’s former Attorney General Doug Gansler secured $10 million in aid for Prince George’s County homeowners and residents seeking affordable housing.

The distressed assets sale program (DASP), launched in 2012 also encouraged lenders to work with borrowers to avoid foreclosure and help residents stay in their homes.

Gebre said that for places like Prince George’s County where neighborhoods are plagued by high foreclosure rates and many homeowners are underwater on their loans, “the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) can provide significant reduction in the debt that they owe.”

Through HUD’s streamlined refinancing program, Gebre added that borrowers who are not in delinquency can benefit from lower rates in the marketplace without having to do a lot of paperwork.
END OPTIONAL CUT
Castro said that it’s the combination of providing housing and providing the opportunity that excited him the most about his role as secretary of HUD, a post he’s held since July 2014. The San Antonio, Texas native said that the investments that are made across HUD make a difference in creating more opportunity for all Americans and those opportunities are particularly significant in the African American community.

“We can’t truly have a nation of opportunity until everyone, no matter their background or the color of their skin, has the chance to fully enjoy the same opportunity,” said Castro. “And we’re not there yet.”
_____By Freddie Allen
NNPA Senior Washington Correspondent

]]>http://sacobserver.com/2015/02/hud-chief-seeks-broadband-access-for-the-poor/feed/0Black Women Endure Menopause Longesthttp://sacobserver.com/2015/02/black-women-endure-menopause-longest/
http://sacobserver.com/2015/02/black-women-endure-menopause-longest/#respondTue, 24 Feb 2015 12:47:23 +0000http://sacobserver.com/?p=8147WASHINGTON (NNPA) – Sarah Finney, 57, said she gets hot flashes throughout her body at least once an hour. She even wakes up in the night with so much perspiration that she looks like she just left working out at a gym, she said.

“Hot flashes are very annoying,” said Finney, a married mother of two who declined to use her real name. “A surge of heat goes through my body, sometimes accompanied by nausea. As the energy builds, I begin to sweat from my hair, neck, chest and underarms.”

Finney, a vegetarian, said she hoped eating healthy and her intense daily routines as a marathon runner would alleviate the symptoms, but no luck.

Finney, who lives in Alexandria, Va., is experiencing the results of menopause, a natural decline in reproductive hormones that affects millions of woman annually when they reach their 40s or 50s.

For women going through menopause, just one day of hot flashes can be too much. Imagine 14 years. A new study published in JAMA Internal Medicine, a medical journal of the American Medical Association, found that women could experience hot flashes for up to 14 years, and that African-American women like Finney typically experience the symptoms longer.

Finney has been going through it for 10 years.

The 17-year study of 1,449 women across the U.S. found that while on average, the women endured the symptoms for about seven and a half years, Black and Hispanic women experience hot flashes for significantly longer than White or Asian women. The median was 10 years for African Americans, nearly nine years for Hispanics, six and a half years for White women, about five and a half years for Chinese and nearly five years for Japanese.

“This is the only study that has looked at a very diverse population, ”said Dr. Ranit Mishori, associate professor of Family Medicine at the Georgetown University School of Medicine.

“No one knows for sure why African-American women are at risk for a longer duration of hot flashes. There could be a relationship between hormone levels, genetic differences, body mass index, the number of children you have or the age you began having children.”

Though the study’s results may not give the quick relief women hoped for, but it allows doctors and medical professional to give patients realistic expectations and find ways to help alleviate the hot flashes.

“This is not a fun thing for the doctor or the patient to realize,” Mishori said. “However, there are ways to manage the symptoms including hormone replacement therapy.”

Hormone replacement therapy is medication containing female hormones to replace the ones the woman’s body no longer makes after menopause.

This method can be a good choice for certain women, depending on their health risk, Mishori said. Women who consume estrogen pills are alleviated from hot flashes and other symptoms of menopause, she said.

The down side is that hormone therapy has been linked to increased risk of breast cancer, stroke and heart disease for some women.

Lifestyle changes, such as diet and exercise, may help some women, health officials said, and there are also non-hormonal medication and supplements that can help. These things may not shorten the duration of hot flashes, but it may lessen the affect and intensity of them.

If the symptoms are unbearable, health officials suggest you consult with your doctor.

Finney said she is resigned to the day-to-day struggle with the condition.

“Menopause is just something we have to deal with as women,” she said. “We all must continue to move forward. This is a part of life.”
_____By Elaina Johnson
Special to the NNPA from Howard University News Service